Head and Hands
“Between the mind that plans and the hands that build there must be a Mediator, and this must be the heart.”
Maria, Metropolis (1927)
John Cage & Marcel Duchamp
27’10.554″ for a Percussionist
The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even. Erratum Musical
First Recordings
John Lee Hooker
Sings The Blues
This was part of last night’s play list – in order – and it reminded me of how broad and useless the category Music is. The Cage/Duchamp record is a mind game of sorts, titillating antiseptic cleverness which is only apparent once you read the liner notes. From the first few notes of John Lee Hooker’s first track, “I Need Some Money” you’re immediately rooted into the earth, dirt and all. No reading required. I wasn’t really thinking, consciously at least, when I put that John Lee Hooker on the platter. But it made me laugh out loud.
Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)
After days of running what-if spreadsheet scenarios, I have to say my body wanted to respond to John Lee Hooker while my head was looking for a more elegant solution. I guess the trick is finding some in-between that allows the heart some necessary mediation.
on January 24th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
This is a great observation, I find myself musing about this exact thing. I often think about it as salt and sugar, the salt, in the correct proportion, enhancing some of the subtle flavors of the recipe, bringing out a bit of garlic, or balancing a bit of richness, while sugar is more of an immediate hit, satisfying cravings on a cellular level, bypassing the mind and heading straight for the body. Both can lead to full nights of heady or visceral joy, but more often than not I end up mixing the two, finding a perfect balance, with each highlighting the others strengths (and sometimes weaknesses)
on January 25th, 2010 at 11:19 am
> Both can lead to full nights of heady or visceral joy, but more often than not I end up mixing the two, finding a perfect balance, with each highlighting the others strengths (and sometimes weaknesses)<
heady visceral joy. Excellent.